Council helps Trinity girls take Sandhills title
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer
It’s hard to imagine Iyonnah Council taking her energy to another level.
Council, a junior guard on Trinity Christian’s girls’ basketball team, has consistently shown an ability to push herself and the Crusaders throughout the season.
The steely-eyed Council is always on the move, ready to make a big play and ready to celebrate that big play with a yell or fierce clap of her hands.
She reached a new level on Tuesday night at Fayetteville Christian, where she started her prep career. With a chance to claim the regular-season title in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference, Council logged her best performance of the season in Trinity’s 65-60 double-overtime victory.
“I actually went to this school before (Overhills and Trinity), so it was just that intensity and motivation to beat the school I came from,” said Council, who came into Tuesday averaging 10.4 points per game before scoring a season-high 23 points against the Warriors.
“And to play with the Crusaders and help them get their title back, it was a good game, overall.”
Council had five of Trinity’s nine points in the second overtime period, making a floater with just under three minutes remaining to give the Crusaders (16-2, 9-0) the lead for good.
Fayetteville Christian senior Noni Russell, who scored a game-high 30 points on Tuesday, helped the Warriors sweep the league titles last season.
That included a sweep of Trinity, which had lost five straight against the Warriors coming into this season.
“I told them it was going to be tough because it’s (Fayetteville Christian’s) house and they’re not gonna sit down, sit back and let us throw the ball around,” said Trinity coach Charles Tubbs.
“We had to come out and play. The championship was
up for grabs.”
Russell, who passed the 1,000-point mark in her career, was sensational throughout the night and Lillie Robinson added 12 points to help the Warriors (12-3, 7-2) stay ahead for most of the way.
But Trinity junior Lavariah Armstead, who made a layup in the final 10 seconds of the first overtime period to extend the game, didn’t want to watch the Warriors celebrate again.
“I just knew we had to win,” said Armstead, who logged a double-double performance with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
“They constantly came and beat us, so it feels good to finally come here and win.”
Desiree Smith added 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Crusaders, who looked for Armstead to seal the victory in the final 10 seconds of the second overtime period. She did, draining a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to make it a twopossession game.
“I was proud of the way wefoughtback,”Tubbssaid. “We were down the whole game until the fourth quarter and they fought back. The will to not quit, that’s what I preached to them. If you’re going to play the game, you’ve got to play the game hard.”
Council was a shining example of that determination.
“It was expected,” she said, referring to the intensity throughout the double-overtime thriller.
“I knew they would come back hard and (Fayetteville Christian) Coach Don (Gardner) was going to give that motivational speech. It was key for us to play as a team.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer
It’s hard to imagine Iyonnah Council taking her energy to another level.
Council, a junior guard on Trinity Christian’s girls’ basketball team, has consistently shown an ability to push herself and the Crusaders throughout the season.
The steely-eyed Council is always on the move, ready to make a big play and ready to celebrate that big play with a yell or fierce clap of her hands.
She reached a new level on Tuesday night at Fayetteville Christian, where she started her prep career. With a chance to claim the regular-season title in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference, Council logged her best performance of the season in Trinity’s 65-60 double-overtime victory.
“I actually went to this school before (Overhills and Trinity), so it was just that intensity and motivation to beat the school I came from,” said Council, who came into Tuesday averaging 10.4 points per game before scoring a season-high 23 points against the Warriors.
“And to play with the Crusaders and help them get their title back, it was a good game, overall.”
Council had five of Trinity’s nine points in the second overtime period, making a floater with just under three minutes remaining to give the Crusaders (16-2, 9-0) the lead for good.
Fayetteville Christian senior Noni Russell, who scored a game-high 30 points on Tuesday, helped the Warriors sweep the league titles last season.
That included a sweep of Trinity, which had lost five straight against the Warriors coming into this season.
“I told them it was going to be tough because it’s (Fayetteville Christian’s) house and they’re not gonna sit down, sit back and let us throw the ball around,” said Trinity coach Charles Tubbs.
“We had to come out and play. The championship was
up for grabs.”
Russell, who passed the 1,000-point mark in her career, was sensational throughout the night and Lillie Robinson added 12 points to help the Warriors (12-3, 7-2) stay ahead for most of the way.
But Trinity junior Lavariah Armstead, who made a layup in the final 10 seconds of the first overtime period to extend the game, didn’t want to watch the Warriors celebrate again.
“I just knew we had to win,” said Armstead, who logged a double-double performance with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
“They constantly came and beat us, so it feels good to finally come here and win.”
Desiree Smith added 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Crusaders, who looked for Armstead to seal the victory in the final 10 seconds of the second overtime period. She did, draining a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to make it a twopossession game.
“I was proud of the way wefoughtback,”Tubbssaid. “We were down the whole game until the fourth quarter and they fought back. The will to not quit, that’s what I preached to them. If you’re going to play the game, you’ve got to play the game hard.”
Council was a shining example of that determination.
“It was expected,” she said, referring to the intensity throughout the double-overtime thriller.
“I knew they would come back hard and (Fayetteville Christian) Coach Don (Gardner) was going to give that motivational speech. It was key for us to play as a team.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.
